Boris Johnson backs new bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland

Boris Johnson has thrown his weight behind plans for a new £15bn bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Foreign Secretary on Monday retweeted an article calling for a fresh 14-mile road link from Portpatrick in Scotland to Larne or Bangor in Northern Ireland.

A source close to Johnson subsequently told the Telegraph: "Boris thinks this is an interesting idea which should be looked at more seriously - as politicians in both Scotland and Northern Ireland have already said.

"It's the kind of ambitious project we need to make a success of Global Britain."

Johnson has previously called for a similar bridge to be built across the English Channel in a bid to bring France and England closer together after Brexit.

The Northern Ireland-Scotland bridge idea has already been received positively by Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, with Brexit spokesperson Sammy Wilson saying it would "have a major positive impact on both countries economically".

But Johnson - whose plans for a controversial 'Garden Bridge' in London where shelved by his London mayoral successor Sadiq Khan - has already come under fire from opponents of Brexit for backing the proposal.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran of the Best for Britain campaign said: "This is more pathetic pipe dreams from a man who has delusions of grandeur.

"First it was Boris Island, then the BoJo One jet, then a bridge between the UK and France and now a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland. This Brexit bridge plan is barmy.

"It is another hair-brained idea from a cabinet member that could have been a Loony Tunes character. He can bumble and bluster as much as he wants but the man is a buffoon.

"The rest of the world seems to have realised that Boris Johnson is a joke – isn't it about time we did too?"